ADVERTISING: Advertorial — GEORGE BALLING: Wines for the times

What we are all going through right now locally, nationally and around the globe has left many of us uncertain about things we felt quite certain about only a short time ago. Jobs and incomes are altered as are our everyday activities. When the governor issued his stay at home order last week he included several “essential” businesses that are allowed to be open. One of the categories was shops that sell beer and wine, so we are here and open our normal business hours. Here are some of our favorite new wines to have with meals at home that will fit the budget in uncertain times.

We just recently tasted and added to the shelf the 2019 La Playa Sauvignon Blanc from Chile ($12, Wine Club $10.80). We have long been fans of the wines from Chile, but sadly we just don’t see that many of them here in our local market. The La Playa, though, is a real treat and a great value! The wine shows clean, crisp palate flavors and aromas of pink grapefruit and other citrus notes. The finish is equally zippy for a lovely SB.

The NV Veuve Devienne Brut sparkling wine from France ($15, Wine Club $13.50) is a delicious sparkling to have on Easter. While our gatherings will likely be smaller than in a normal year on Easter, it would still be nice to toast all our friends that can’t be with us. The wine shows light biscuit aromas that lead into a palate with good depth and fine, small bubbles. The palate is accented by flavors of apple and lemon. At this price you can both blend it with a bit of fruit juice for brunch or have it as an aperitif before dinner.

The 2019 Arona Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand ($15, Wine Club $13.50) is a unique wine for NZ. While the crisp acidity and zippy palate of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc are clearly present, there is also a soft and round tropical note to the wine that tempers the “gooseberry” flavors that can be a bit overdone in some wines from New Zealand. The combination makes for a lovely, easy-drinking wine that our customers are really raving about in the short time since we have added it.

We just got in the new 2018 vintage of the Cipresseto Rosé of Sangiovese ($15, Wine Club $13.50) and it is another great wine in a long line of wonderful vintages from our friends at Antinori in Italy. With light strawberry flavors and aromas you can’t help but think of spring, which right now sounds good to all of us.

We were thrilled to snag another Chilean wine to add to our value section. The 2016 Santa Rita 120 Merlot ($12, Wine Club $10.80) is a delicious, easy drinking wine with lots of ripe cherry flavors on the palate and a great aromatic profile that shows notes of mocha and candied cherries. The wine shows great depth and character for such a modest price and will quickly be a staple of the “Tuesday night pizza wine” category.

The 2017 Spanish Quarter ($15, Wine Club $13.50) is a blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet made in Spain, with lovely coffee-savory aromas and a juicy, ripe palate that is red-fruit focused. The wine is super smooth and uncomplicated with near perfect palate weight. It will be another great summer wine with enough heft to go with grilled steak, but light enough to not be overbearing in the warm weather.

The 2017 Short Man Red ($15, Wine Club $13.50) is a private label bottling from Justin Neufeld who crafts his own label, JB Neufeld, and is also the winemaker at Gilbert Cellars in Yakima. This Bordeaux based blend is another easy drinking wine that will be a “go to” in the coming summer months. Mild tannins and minimal oak barrel treatment give it a softness, allowing vibrant fruit flavors to come out across the palate. While we have a bit of wine in the shop, this one may experience a bit of a supply interruption as the distributor for the wine is located in Seattle and is currently shut down.

We have known the wines from The Walls Winery in Walla Walla for some time. We have always been impressed but when they were first introduced to the market, we found them to be quite expensive. Since then they have switched distributors and the wines have come way down in price. The 2017 Stanley Groovy Red ($20, Wine Club $18) is a unique blend of 28% Touriga Nacional, 25% Syrah, 23% Cabernet, 17% Souzo, 4% Tinto Cao, and 3% Mourvèdre, many of which are Portuguese varietals that we had no idea grew in the vineyards of Walla Walla! The wine is red-fruit focused with firm tannins and plenty of heft, is really great, and at this price is a compelling value!

Stop by the shop to check out these wines or just call or email and we will deliver wine to you complimentary.

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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country.

After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.